Wednesday morning Talking Points: Cutdown to 53 looming Saturday

With labor strife already putting 2011 training camps in jeopardy and an 18-game season being widely anticipated to begin in 2012, there’s a real sense that this will be the last time we see as many as four preseason games a year. Happy as we are to see these meaningless exhibitions come to an end, they do serve a purpose, which is where we start our talking points for Wednesday.

1. Thursday night will be do-or-die for nearly 20 Dolphin hopefuls.

The roster stood at 72 Tuesday after the Dolphins announced tackle Nate Garner had been placed on injured reserve and Phillip Merling put on the reserve non-football injury list. That leaves 19 more players to be cut before the 53-man roster is set Saturday.

For up to eight players, the cut won’t be so drastic, as they’ll be assigned to the practice squad, meaning they’ll continue to be a part of the team. The rest will be cut loose, and for at least a few, it will probably be the end of their dream to play in the NFL.

Some will see their fate coming. Some will have no idea. For coach Tony Sparano and GM Jeff Ireland, it’s an experience they really don’t enjoy. But the players all know they’ve got that one last shot to impress on Thursday night, and perhaps one or two will seal their fate in a positive way in that game.

2. Latecomer Micah Johnson is making a name for himself at inside linebacker.

Signed five days into training camp as a free agent after ILB A.J. Edds was lost for the season with a torn ACL, Johnson has made his presence known, ranking second on the team in tackles with 10 and catching the eye of Sparano.

“He’s done some good things,” Sparano said Tuesday of the free-agent rookie out of Kentucky. “He had to come in and catch up on the fly, and he did that. We put him in a ballgame on very, very little notice and the guy went in and contributed and made some plays and he’s getting better on special teams.

“He’s taking coaching well. I mean, he’s got a long way to go but he’s getting there.”

3. The Dolphins get a taste of Super Bowl excitement in Dallas this week.

When New Orleans came to South Florida for the Super Bowl earlier this year, the Saints recalled their visit to the same stadium during the regular season to play the Dolphins and how intent they were on returning to the same locker room and same venue to compete for the NFL championship.

With Dallas hosting Super Bowl XLV next February at the same Cowboys Stadium where the Dolphins will conclude their preseason Thursday night, Miami players can have the same experience. Will Sparano use that as an incentive when he sends his team onto the field to face the Cowboys? Probably not. But it wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Dolphins to be thinking, “Next time we come in here, maybe it’ll be for the whole enchilada.”